The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Plenty of exHuskies on U.S. squad
TARRYTOWN, N.Y. >> The vocal minority has certainly made quite the presence on social media whenever the United States Olympic women’s basketball team takes to the court for exhibition games.
When the Geno Auriemmacoached U.S. team featuring five of his former UConn players meets Canada on Friday at 7 p.m. in an international friendly at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, don’t be surprised to see more than a few comments of “is it the U.S. national team or UConn” variety especially if former UConn stars Sue Bird, Tina Charles, Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi are announced as starters for the third straight exhibition game in the USA Basketball Showcase.
With that in mind, just what would happen if the 12-member U.S. team truly consisted only of UConn products? Could a national team of former Huskies win the gold medal at the Olym-
pics?
“I think so,” said USA Basketball Women’s National Team Director Carol Callan. “In 2012 we had six (former UConn players). Several players (including 2012 Olympian Asjha Jones) have retired, but winning 11 national championships along the way means there are some really good players who have played there and then you bring them into their pro lives, that means there’s a lot of good talent that are alums so they would have a great chance.”
With recent UConn star Breanna Stewart also on the team, five of the 12 players suited up for Auriemma at UConn. When Tennessee legend Candace Parker, a former Olympian, was left off the team and Stewart was given a spot, there was outrage from many quarters claiming that playing for Auriemma at UConn is a major prerequisite for being named to the national team.
Callan, who chaired the committee which selected the national team, disagrees.
“I think certainly I don’t want a misperception to exist that if you go to UConn you get to be on the Olympic team easier than somebody else but the fact that he runs the same things, he does a lot based on timing and execution and those kinds of things, certainly there is a bigger familiarity with UConn players,” Callan said. “That is also why we have continuity factor of players who are not UConn players who have played (Auriemma’s system) before and they can step in as well. If somebody like Seimone Augustus, Sylvia (Fowles), Tamika (Catchings) have all played it so when they step in, it is easier as well. It is just a natural evolution of time together. You add four more years for a UConn player who has played there, I guess it is not quite like riding a bike but it feels comfortable getting back into that flow again.”
Don’t expect the backlash directed at Callan and Auriemma to subside. Auriemma has gotten under the skin of rival fan bases before and the Olympics will give them a chance to sound off.
Callan downplayed the level of distaste directed USA Basketball’s way after the 12-member team was announced.
“The beauty of fans is that they are passionate, not only do teams have a following but players have a following and that is great,” Callan said. “The more we progress in women’s basketball, the more we learn about how things are evolving. With the WNBA and colleges as well, you have more fans interested and more passionate about it.”
Making it an all-UConn team would mean taking off Catchings, Augustus, Fowles, Elena Delle Donne, Brittney Griner, Lindsay Whalen and Angel McCoughtry. Moriah Jefferson could assume Whalen’s role as a reserve point guard, Stefanie Dolson and Kiah Stokes would give the team some size in the post to replace Fowles and Griner. On the wing, Tiffany Hayes, Renee Montgomery and Bria Hartley would add scoring punch. There hasn’t even been a mention of former Olympian Swin Cash or former WNBA lottery picks Morgan Tuck or Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis.
“We have a certain kind of swagger more so from where you are rooted from, especially playing for him just the confidence he breathed into all of us to become the (best) players we could be and just buying into his formula of success so be playing for him on this stage is pretty special,” Charles said.
The all-UConn would not be as good as the current U.S. squad but since it would be representing the United States, it would not have to be.
Bird wasn’t ready to give a detailed response to the prospects of 12 former Huskies going for the gold.
“There is a reason why UConn has the most alumni in the WNBA, there is a reason,” Bird said.
Whalen, who has been teammates with 10 former UConn players during her 13-year WNBA career, gave her own thoughts on the matter.
“They have a lot of good players, I think they would make a great team,” Whalen said.
What does Whalen think leads to the success at the professional and international level for the UConn grads?
“I think it is the commitment they all have to being really great,” Whalen said. “From an organizational standpoint, they have a real commitment to excellence. They all follow through, they all work at it and all make sure that every day they give the best that they have and that is definitely the case through the whole program.”
U.S. assistant coach Doug Bruno has faced Auriemma’s UConn teams 13 times since 2006 and might have a better sense of what makes Auriemma so successful as any other rival coach.
“They have special talents,’ Bruno said. “I am quoting Geno when I say it but, ‘Some people get a once in a lifetime player but I have had multiple once in a lifetime players.’ Let’s not forget that Geno, Chris (Dailey) and his staff do a great job coaching these players so it is not just that they were talented, it is not just that they went to UConn but they have been well-schooled for four years as a foundation, then they get their wings and go fly as pros.
“What would an AllUConn WNBA (or international) team look like, I never think about it. I just think about that it is obviously that they have been well-schooled. It is obvious when you see it in practice. It transcends generations, no two of them are the same, the general understanding of how to play is grounded in that experience of playing at UConn.”